Relationship between type of soft disc herniation causing mild cervical spondylotic myelopathy and effect of conservative treatment

Objective: To explore relationships between the type of soft disc herniation causing mild cervical myelopathy and effectof conservative treatment. Methods: Twenty-eight patients with mild cervical myelopathy caused by soft disc herniation were selected with JOA scores>12 and divided into two groups according to the therapeutic efficacy. In 16 patients (Group A), their myelopathy improved or their condition remained stable while in the other 12 patients (Group B), they deteriorated neurologically or their disability remained unchanged. The difference of the types of soft disc herniation was compared by MRI. Results: Before treatment, JOA score in group A was 13.94±1.44, in group B 14.1±1.1, without the statistic significance between two groups (P>0.05). After treatment, JOA score in group A was 16.0±0.73, in group B 12.5±0.80 (P<0.001). Diffuse-type herniation was present in 63% of the patients in Group A and 25% in Group B (P=0.067), while median-type herniation was diagnosed in 75% in Group A and 25% in Group B (P=0.020). Conclusions: Patients with a median type and diffuse type CDH on MRI may be more suitable for the conservative treatment.